Posted on 06/02/2013 10:15:02 AM PDT by kristinn
IRS employee in bombshell congressional interviews about tea party targeting: 'Washington, DC wanted some cases ... I sent seven'
Interviews with IRS employees have established that the Washington, D.C. headquarters of the Internal Revenue Service was engaged in targeting tea party groups and other conservative organizations for unfair levels of scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status.
Rep. Darrel lssa, chairman of powerful House Committee of Oversight and Government Reform, made that startling announcement on CNN Sunday morning.
'As late as last week,' he said, 'the [Obama] administration was still trying to say the [IRS targeting scandal] was from a few rogue agents in Cincinnati, when in fact the indication is that they were directly being ordered from Washington.'
A committee spokesman sent MailOnline partial transcripts of two interviews with unnamed IRS workers about the agency's actions in early 2010, on whose testimony Issa based his bombshell statement.
One of those interviewees said it was 'impossible' for a few IRS agents to have orchestrated such widespread partisan targeting on their own.
'Did [your supervisor] give you any indication of the need for the search [for tea party groups], any more context?' one IRS witness was asked in a closed-door interview.
'He told me that Washington, D.C., wanted some cases,' came the reply.
The employee, who said he or she was evaluating 40 such applications for tax-exempt status from conservative organizations at the time, said 'some went to Washington. D.C. ... I sent seven.'
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Mrs. Englebreck (not sure the spelling) and her husband had their private business, KSP and True the vote investigated by the IRS, visited by the FBI, OSHA, EPA and BATF.
Congressional investigators are using her and her organization as the poster child for their inquiries. This will go somewhere...I can smell the blood in the water.
Groups and individuals targeted by the IRS were also investigated by the FBI, ATF, EPA, etc. These were orchestrated attacks with coordination among federal agencies. This is the most frightening part of all.
IRS Employee in Bombshell Congressional Interviews About Tea Party Targeting
Still catching up.
Thanks, GOPJ.
Cutter’s done.
I’m keeping my optimism in check so I don’t get constantly let down by those sent to try to reign in government. This way I can say “I knew that would happen” and remain melancholy about whatever it is, instead of “how in the world could that happen,” and be upset about it.
Compare a conservative zip in OH vs a Leftist zip in OH at the same income level.
At minimum, we need to force the IRS to have uniform audit rates across the combination of income level and zip code/congressional district.
In other words, a person in a conservative district making 250k cannot be audited at a higher rate than a person in a Lefist district making 250k.
This was called "Red Lining" the zip codes and lead to the mortgage fiasco.
“I think maybe theyre aiming at the middle managers through the low level people.”
I think that is the next step, but nowhere near the end game. I read late last week that there would be two hearings this week on the IRS, closed door I think, and that four or five IRS employees are scheduled for testimony. I will guess that some or all of those testifying this week are the supervisors referred to here.
Since this was not a leak, but an open partial release of edited transcript, I will surmise that its intention is to make it very clear to the middle guys that their underlings have been pointing fingers, being very specific, and are blood vessel popping mad. It puts enormous pressure on the middle managers to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Likely the middle guys will be pointing fingers too. Paz, Thomas, and Lerner are probably not getting much sleep these days.
I hope Ingram eventually gets fingered. That would help this metastasize to Obamacare. Obamacare is still very unpopular, will get even more unpopular as the high costs sink in, and cross-pollenating IRS abuse of power with Obamacare could create a perfect storm (to mix metaphors) in the coming months.
I think the bridge to the White House is also being constructed, but we may only see occasional hints of it for a while.
In any event, as far as I am concerned the real end game is not so much impeachment and prison sentences as it is smaller government and a lower, simpler tax system. Liberty and Constitutional limits to government is a higher priority than impeachment and prison sentences (as much as I would like to see both, where warranted).
I hear you on the realism approach. It’s important though, that we hold Congress RINOs accountable to the job they were elected to do, and they need to know we expect that marxist lawbreakers will NOT be allowed to take over our country. It’s all about expectations. Negative passivity sends them the wrong message; it tells them they can do nothing and then escape accountability for that.
Negativity is also very contagious. For that reason, it’s an effective demoralizing tool used by the shills among us, and i know you wouldn’t want to make their job easier.
Keep your head up. God’s in ultimate control anyway, which is always reassuring for me.
Simplifying the tax system to either a flat tax or the Fair Tax Would go a long way to making the government smaller automatically. It would certainly reduce the intrusiveness of the IRS or whatever agency Is created to replace it.
But I think we’ve got to get to the matter of the abuse of executive power first. Obama has corrupted or manipulated every single agency of the government. Those that, for one reason or another, he could not control, he has simply ignored. He has filled the government with extra-congressionally appointed czars who report only to him. He simply ignores legal decisions that attempt to restrict his power.
For our system of checks and balances to work, everyone involved must respect it. We weren’t mentally or legally prepared for a chief executive who, from the very start, did not respect it.
The only good thing is that he acted so blatantly, the bridge to the White House, as you have appropriately called it, may actually be easier to construct. I think it all depends on the will of Congress to go after this. Maybe the usurpation of their powers and the undermining of our system will make them angry enough to pursue it.
Read 87. Lots of common sense and wisdom there, which may help.
I would accept reasserting checks and balances and restoring respect for them as a reasonable argument for going after punishing abuses first. If that happened before tax reform and government shrinkage I would not be unhappy - provided the reforms come quickly after. I still favor priority to reforms.
I agree addressing abuse is important, and if criminal charges were to be brought against individuals in the IRS it would have an immediate and wonderfully chilling effect on other bureaucrats in other agencies who might be inclined to tip the scales in certain directions. It likely could have a systemic effect beyond a few individuals and beyond a single agency. This is not just abuses perpetrated by the few, but a systemic rot infecting every part of government to one degree or another.
Ultimately, we need to win over more people to small and limited government arguments. There are a lot of limited government people, but not nearly enough to bring it about. I think this may be the opening to bring about a change in some people’s thinking, and an opportunity to move toward systemic changes.
Don't you fret. The Obama administration will censor and block these pesky foreign news websites as soon as he can!
Sing, little birdies, SING!
This part:
Q: Okay. So she asked you to send particular parts of these applications. A: Mm‑hmm. Q: And that was unusual. Did you say that? A: Yes. Q: And she indicated that Washington had requested these specific parts of these specific applications; is that right? A: Correct.
This seems very damning. Looking for specific info from conservative groups? Who would want this very specific info, hmmm? This had to come from the TOP--there is no way it didn't.
My analysis of this whole mess is that the Left went a bridge too far in a jump-off from one of their original secured strongpoints.
Basically, they've infiltrated & taken over a number of .gov institutions across the country, and then applied a litmus test on who gets hired, basically cutting off funding for their enemies wherever they can. They force the conservative/Republican enemy to get jobs in the private sector, where they're strip-mined at .gov gunpoint for the cash to reward their Progressive troops in government and elsewhere.
For example, Lerner was is making 88 bucks an hour.
The bridge too far is that they thought they could extend the money starvation with the IRS and other feral agencies, and figured that the press, which has long been absorbed and co-opted, would not spill the beans.
I imagine the POSUS is REALLY, REALLY pissed about the existence of the Interwebs just about now. Those people are still of a "certain age" where they don't really understand how information gets disseminated on the Net.
You're right - it's disgraceful.
Our “spouse” can’t stand the idea of us living outside of their control.
That’s what’s “expensive” about it.
Clinton democrats didn’t go after the press.
It is not giving up, just not keeping my hopes up.
I’m afraid we won’t get the whole story until some people have jail time hanging over their heads. Sounds like they are working their way right up the food chain just like they do with drug dealers, keep it up!
Good on both of you. :)
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